Backend Engineer | PHP

Company Description

Drive is Nine’s brand appealing to the automotive enthusiast. Working with our industry leaders you will help us achieve our vision, to shape the future of automotive in Australia by providing authoritative reviews, detailed comparisons, and innovative commerce solutions.

2025 is an exciting year to be part of the Drive Marketplace team. Drive Marketplace is on a sharp growth trajectory with a vision to become Australia’s No.2 Automotive Marketplace in Australia.

The expanding Drive Marketplace team has an ambitious, forward-thinking and highly collaborative culture, with a shared passion for the automotive industry. As the on-the-ground human faces of the Drive brand within the National Drive Dealer Network, genuine partnerships and a healthy dose of hard work and fun sit at the core of the team’s success to date.

Job Description

• Hands-on development to deliver key sprint tasks. Architect reliable, performant, automated, and cost-efficient solutions.
• Proactively scope and implement improvements to the Performance, Cost, Quality, and Security of the stack ($\approx$ 20%).
• Mentor junior/offshore developers on architecture, code quality, and performance ($\approx$ 15%).
• Collaborate with Tech Director/SEM to drive effective processes, governance, and delivery approaches.
• Ensure key agile processes, coding conventions, documentation, and test coverage standards are followed.
• Estimate, provide solutions, and run Proof of Concepts (POCs) to de-risk complex items.
• Partner with Product Managers/Owners on product lifecycle strategy, design, and measurement, providing input on technical feasibility and risk.
• Liaise with External Tech Vendors for platform and development capabilities.
• Work closely with the Marketplace (dealer contracts/customer service) and Content Teams (consumer content/lead generation).

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science or a related field.
• 6+ years of full-stack development experience, specifically with PHP, WordPress, and Laravel.
• Proven experience developing REST/GraphQL APIs and stand-alone applications using frameworks like Laravel and Horizon.
• Hands-on experience with SQL and NoSQL databases, comfortable utilizing an ORM system (e.g., Eloquent).
• Experience with cloud platforms like AWS or GCP.
• Practical understanding of key DevOps principles including Automation, CI/CD, and Observability.
• Experience building high-traffic systems that are secure, available, scalable, and cost-efficient, ideally aligning with frameworks such as AWS's Well-Architected Framework.
• Strong understanding of Cloud Infrastructure, Microservices, Distributed Systems, and ETL processes.
• Familiarity with the Agile development process (backlog planning, retrospectives, etc.).
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal), with experience coaching and mentoring other developers.

Additional Information

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion:

We're committed to a safe, respectful and inclusive Nine. From day one, you'll be encouraged to bring your whole self to work and will be supported to perform at your best.

We encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disabilities, and of all ages, genders, nationalities, backgrounds and cultures as we recognise the importance and value of diverse perspectives. Should you require any adjustments to the recruitment process, please advise us when you apply.

Work rights: Please note to apply for this role you must already have the right to lawfully work and live in Australia.